The Week That Was

Let's recap the week. Because it may have been the best ever.

Monday: I studied for a while because I actually had a test I was worried about. Borderline between a C and D so I needed to do well. So I studied for quite a while. The Silver Dollar City people called and set up a time to close out my Worker's Compensation case and told me I'd most likely be getting a check for $1,600 or so.

Tuesday: Worker's Comp conference call. Apparently when they said $1,600, they meant $5,000. Then I took the test. It was one of those where I knew I studied hard for it but honestly felt like it could have gone either way. But I walked out feeling confident about what happened, so that was that. Then I started to get ready for Wednesday, which happened to be one of the biggest days ever. I was super nervous going to bed because so much seemed to hinge on Wednesday. I spent some time reflecting on Phillipians 4:4-7:
-"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand, do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Also, I read and reflected on Jeremiah 29:10-14:
-"For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me a with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile."

The interesting thing about these two passages is that "peace that surpasses all understanding" and "welfare" are pretty much the same thing. The original word here, at least according to my ESV study bible, is shalom. The footnote for Jer. 29:7 says that shalom covers all aspects of peace and plenty. So, as it is written here, it's like the prophet is saying "guys, I know you don't have any hope right now, but take faith in this - God has a plan, one for your future, so even though it's not looking so good right now, take heart." When the people have no reason to feel peace, God promises them He is in control, and they can take heart knowing that. That's definitely the effect it had on me.

Wednesday: Woke up, took my second test. I didn't study at all for it because all I had to do was make better than a 9 out of 105 to pass the class. I did much better than that. Then I got a job, so I get to live in Oxford for a while. Spent the afternoon and evening with some good friends, and had a GREAT night that culminated in the first ever Ole Miss flash rave in the library, which truly had to be a top 5 moment ever at Ole Miss. Top 5 in no particular order - LSU game, 2003; Ole Miss vs. LSU basketball - Valentine's Day game, 2007; Double Decker, 2009; Double Decker, 2005; flash rave, 2009.

Thursday: First day of post-college freedom. Sat around and did nothing.

Friday: See Thursday. Besides watching the most disappointing baseball game in history, it was a great day. Saw the new Star Trek, it was fantastic, and I'm not even a Trekkie. The aforementioned test that I had to do well on? 95. Officially a graduate...well, I'm not actually going to say that until the degree is in my hands. But I killed all of my classes this semester.

So all in all this has been one incredible week.

Best Day Ever?

I haven't updated this thing in what feels like forever but today it feels like I should. Yesterday was possibly the most amazing day ever.

Recap:
I rolled out of bed at about 10:30 and bum around the house a little bit, got showered and headed out to the Square for Double Decker at like 11:30. Got there, met up with some great friends, and walked around for a bit, ate some good food and just hung out. That process pretty much repeated itself until like 3:30 when I walked over to the baseball game with Jess and KB. Watched an AMAZING baseball game that the Rebs pulled out in the 8th inning, so lots of drama and entertainment going on there. Then met up with some people for dinner, then Robert Randolph which was also AMAZING. One of my favorite shows ever, seriously. Then met up with more people for a little late night food action, then I crashed. Today, I wake up rested but completely sunburned due to the great weather and my Chaco tan is coming in nicely. Great day, perhaps one of the greatest days.

Best E-Mail Ever

Congratulations on being selected for Team 7 (forest green shirts) of the Scituate Soccer Club! My name is Michael and I have been fortunate enough to be selected to coach what I know will be a wonderful group of young ladies. Chris Mac will also be coaching and I expect the ever popular Terry to return to the sidelines. Our first game will be Saturday April 4 at 10:00AM. There will be a half hour of skills followed by a 1 hour game, so total time will be 1.5 hours. All games will be played on the fields in the front of the High School. Each player will be required to wear shin guards and cleats are recommended but not required. A ball will be provided to each player at the first meeting, and each player should bring the ball to games and practices. There is no set practice time allotted for the U8 teams, but I will convene with the coaches to determine the best time and place. If there are cancellations due to rain, all notices will be posted via the Scituate Soccer Club website, no calls will be made (though I will try to send an email). Attached is the Schedule and Code of Conduct. After listening to the head of the referees drone on for about 30 minutes on the dangers of jewelry (time which I will never get back), no player will be allowed to play with pierced ears, hairclips, etc. We used to tape the earings, but that practice is no longer acceptable. Please let me know if your child has any health issues that I need to be aware of. My home phone is 781 XXX XXXX, my cell number is 781 XXX XXXX, and I check my email frequently. According to my wife, my emails get too wordy, so for those of you read too slowly, are easily offended, or are too busy, you can stop here. For the others……

OK, here’s the real deal: Team 7 will be called Green Death. We will only acknowledge “Team 7” for scheduling and disciplinary purposes. Green Death has had a long and colorful history, and I fully expect every player and parent to be on board with the team. This is not a team, but a family (some say cult), that you belong to forever. We play fair at all times, but we play tough and physical soccer. We have some returning players who know the deal; for the others, I only expect 110% at every game and practice. We do not cater to superstars, but prefer the gritty determination of journeymen who bring their lunch pail to work every week, chase every ball and dig in corners like a Michael Vick pit bull. Unless there is an issue concerning the health of my players or inside info on the opposition, you probably don’t need to talk to me. Coach MacDonald has been designated “good guy” this year.

Some say soccer at this age is about fun and I completely agree. However, I believe winning is fun and losing is for losers. Ergo, we will strive for the “W” in each game. While we may not win every game (excuse me, I just got a little nauseated) I expect us to fight for every loose ball and play every shift as if it were the finals of the World Cup. While I spent a good Saturday morning listening to the legal liability stuff, which included a 30 minute dissertation on how we need to baby the kids and especially the refs, I was disgusted. The kids will run, they will fall, get bumps, bruises and even bleed a little. Big deal, it’s good for them (but I do hope the other team is the one bleeding). If the refs can’t handle a little criticism, then they should turn in their whistle. The sooner they figure out how to make a decision and live with the consequences the better. My heckling of the refs is actually helping them develop as people. The political correctness police are not welcome on my sidelines. America’s youth is becoming fat, lazy and non-competitive because competition is viewed as “bad”. I argue that competition is good and is important to the evolution of our species and our survival in what has become an increasingly competitive global economy and dangerous world. Second place trophies are nothing to be proud of as they serve only as a reminder that you missed your goal; their only useful purpose is as an inspiration to do that next set of reps. Do you go to a job interview and not care about winning? Don’t animals eat what they kill (and yes, someone actually kills the meat we eat too – it isn’t grown in plastic wrap)? And speaking of meat, I expect that the ladies be put on a diet of fish, undercooked red meat and lots of veggies. No junk food. Protein shakes are encouraged, and while blood doping and HGH use is frowned upon, there is no testing policy. And at the risk of stating the obvious, blue slushies are for winners.

These are my views and not necessarily the views of the league (but they should be). I recognize that my school of thought may be an ideological shift from conventional norms. But it is imperative that we all fight the good fight, get involved now and resist the urge to become sweat-xedo-wearing yuppies who sit on the sidelines in their LL Bean chairs sipping mocha-latte-half-caf-chinos while discussing reality TV and home decorating with other feeble-minded folks. I want to hear cheering, I want to hear encouragement, I want to get the team pumped up at each and every game and know they are playing for something.

Lastly, we are all cognizant of the soft bigotry that expects women and especially little girls, to be dainty and submissive; I wholeheartedly reject such drivel. My overarching goal is develop ladies who are confident and fearless, who will stand up for their beliefs and challenge the status quo. Girls who will kick butt and take names on the field, off the field and throughout their lives. I want these girls to be winners in the game of life. Who’s with me?

Go Green Death!

one of my favorite things...

the other day, i was driving down the road and the jimmy eat world song kill came on my ipod. i love that song, but i haven't heard it in forever. so i listened to it a couple of times and then put on the entire album, futures, and just basked in the awesomeness of jimmy eat world. and it got me thinking about how many times that really happens. how many times am i just driving down the street and a song comes on and it takes me way back when and a whole new set of memories opens up? i love how that happens. not that i'm trying to relive high school, but some songs really do just take me back to a different time.

i don't know, this was just a blurb that i've been thinking about for a few days. it is an incredible thing - how a song can just take you to a time and place that's so much different, whether happy or sad. it's pretty freakin' cool.

The New Year

Jeremiah 29:11 - "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."

So, with the new year comes my annual existential breakdown.  I'm not 100% sure if the word "existential" applies to the current situation, but I choose to use it anyway.  If anyone reads that and is bothered by it...well thanks for being the one person that actually reads this.  

Anyways, about this time every year I reflect on the past year (as I was watching the NFL playoffs last Sunday, I thought to myself "man it's been a year since the Super Bowl."  That's what triggered it this year...ha.)  I think about what's happened and all that and wow...what a year it's been.  I am literally in the very last place I thought I would be at this point.  Last year over the break I was spending time up in the Seattle area and seriously considering moving up there to take a job on Young Life staff.  Eventually I more or less decided to go, and was getting geared up for the seemingly impossible amount of money I had to raise.  I knew God was bigger than money, though, and I knew if it was His plan for my life, then the money would come.  I repeated Jeremiah 29:11 over and over and over again, and I was ready to tackle it.  Then the rug was kinda pulled out from under me.  I had decided to double major in Political Science and Liberal Arts.  Liberal Arts consists of 3 minors, and I had chosen History, English, and Journalism.  Everything was in order to graduate, or so I thought, and I went to commencement and walked and all that fun stuff.  Then, two weeks later, I got a call saying I didn't actually graduate and I had to come back to retake a class I had made a D in.  The worst part was that I got the call while I was at Young Life camp on what is possibly the most important day of the week - the day that the truth about our fallen human condition is presented.  

"Welfare."  The word in that verse confused me.  What is welfare?  Is it for my ultimate good?  Is it something that is material?  What exactly is it?  Well, tonight as I looked at that verse I checked the footnote, and the word used in the Hebrew is "shalom."  Peace.  Not just the absence of conflict, but ultimate peace that only can stem from a relationship with God.  Peace that surpasses all understanding.  This is a concept I am just now learning as I reflect upon 2008.

The next few months were almost a complete blur.  I spent the summer in Branson, Missouri, for Discipleship Focus, and though I was living in "community," I had never felt lonelier.  Comparing it to DF the first time I did it as well as my incredible experience at Malibu the summer before was inevitable.  I couldn't help but think about the community we had developed in Canada in just a few short days and wonder why the sense of community never developed over an entire summer, for me at least.  

After I made it through that, I made the decision to stay in school for an entire year and get a second degree as well as finish up the first, which I am now on pace to do.  The first degree is finally finished!  The semester itself, though, was miserable.  I felt even more alone than during the summer.  Everything suffered - my relationship with others, my relationship with God (which was probably the reason for everything else suffering), my attitude towards school, Young Life, everything.

"Shalom" - the ultimate sense of peace that comes only from a relationship with God.  The last two weeks or so of the semester were completely different.  I began to read the Bible and focus on my relationship with Christ more, and as I focused on that relationship, my relationships with others began to develop.  God also met some of the desires he had put on my heart when I began to look to Him to fulfill those desires instead of trying to fulfill them myself, which got...um...interesting.  "Shalom."  Even though I don't believe I am perfect - or anywhere close to it - I have recovered that sense of peace.  

The Christmas/New Year's break was fantastic.  A couple of great road trips, a huge bowl game, and a fantastic girlfriend later made this one of the best Christmas breaks ever.  And now I find myself here, at 4:45 in the morning, thinking about the upcoming year.  There are way more questions than answers:

Do I go on Young Life staff?

Do I go to seminary?

Where should I do either of those two options?

What should I do this summer?

What should I do job-wise this semester?

There are others, but those are most of the major ones.  The wonderful thing is that I do feel this sense of peace.  So, in a way, I'm in exactly the same place I was last year.  And I guess I just need to ring in the New Year with a Bible verse:

Jeremiah 29:11 - "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."

Shalom!

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Football Conference Supremacy?

I was listening to a radio call-in show today and a guy called in and started talking about the PAC-10's dominance in bowl games this year.  Now, to their credit, 5-0 is impressive.  

The PAC-10 in bowl games:

Arizona beat BYU

Cal beat Miami

Oregon beat Oklahoma State

Oregon State beat Pitt (in a 3-0 barn burner, might I add)

USC beat Penn State

I won't make any statements as to the quality of the teams the PAC-10 played, but I do think it's interesting that the PAC-10 finished their bowl games the day after the SEC started theirs.  With the exception of the GMAC bowl and a few others, the "better" bowl games are typically played later.  So that right there is interesting in and of itself.

Then, the caller said that the SEC was overrated for 2 reasons.  The first was because the SEC has lost 2 bowl games thus far.  The second was because the SEC "never played tough teams outside of the conference."  

First, the bowl argument.  The SEC in bowl games this year:

South Carolina lost to Iowa

Alabama lost to Utah

LSU beat Georgia Tech

Ole Miss beat Texas Tech

Georgia beat Michigan State

Kentucky beat Eastern Carolina

Vanderbilt beat Boston College

The guy may have had a point about the bowl records, but half of the PAC-10 wasn't bowl eligible.  Half of their league made it, while 8 of the 12 SEC teams were eligible.  Stanford and Arizona both came within one game of eligibility, while Tennessee, Auburn, and Arkansas were all within one game.  Maybe that speaks for the difficulty of the SEC over the difficulty of the PAC-10, but using bowl games to determine conference supremacy isn't a great way to say who's better.  

Now, the winner of the PAC-10 and the winner of the SEC are always going to be elite teams.  Same with the Big XII and some years (but apparently not most) the Big 10+1 will be too.  The ACC and Big East...not so much.  Anyway, you have to compare more than just the best teams in the league to determine which conference is the best, which leads me to my next point.

The caller was bragging about the PAC-1o stepping out to play other BCS conference teams and how the SEC didn't do that.  That, in and of itself, was a blatant falsehood, but he also went on to say that the SEC only plays FBS teams and all that.  He, nor the hosts, made any mention of Washington and Washington State's impressive combined 2-23 record.  Conference record wise (Tennessee actually had a better conference record than Kentucky, but their overall record wasn't bowl eligible), the two worst SEC teams were 11-14 combined, and both of those teams (Mississippi State and Kentucky) won more than one conference game.  So, of course a PAC-1o team isn't going to schedule an FBS team because they play 2 teams that would probably barely even pass for FBS teams.

Finally, the caller and the hosts completely failed to mention the SEC stepping out and playing BCS conference teams.  The caller bragged about USC playing Ohio State (who sucks) and Virginia (who also sucks).  He said SEC teams only play FBS teams, or at least non-BCS teams.  The caller and the hosts completely failed to mention the following games:

Alabama beat Clemson

Georgia beat Arizona State

Georgia lost to Georgia Tech

Florida beat Florida State

Florida beat Miami

Vanderbilt lost to Duke

Vanderbilt lost to Wake Forest

Ole Miss lost to Wake Forest

Mississippi State lost to Georgia Tech

South Carolina beat North Carolina State

South Carolina lost to Clemson

Tennessee lost to UCLA

Kentucky beat Louisville

Auburn lost to West Virginia

Arkansas lost to Texas

So, the SEC played 15 games against BCS non-conference teams.  In a down year, they only won 6, with no help from LSU as they played no BCS non-conference teams

USC beat Virginia

USC beat Ohio State

USC beat Notre Dame

Oregon beat Purdue

Oregon State lost to Penn State

Cal beat Michigan State

Cal lost to Maryland

Stanford lost to Notre Dame

Arizona State lost to Georgia

UCLA beat Tennessee

Washington State lost to Oklahoma State

Washington State lost to Baylor

Washington lost to Oklahoma

Washington lost to Notre Dame

The PAC-10, who supposedly plays more BCS non-conference opponents, played 14 games (15>14, for those West Coast types who prefer self-esteem to actual math and science marks).  They won 6 and lost 8.

Head to head, the conferences were 1-1 against each other.  

The SEC got 8 teams into bowls, the PAC-10 only 5.  The PAC-10's weak conference schedule is what held USC out of the title game.  This was a down year in college football in general, and I don't really know what this post proves or claims one way or the other, but the PAC-10 is not the best conference in football.  Never has been, never will be.  The SEC will likely be hoisting its third BCS Championship banner in as many years Thursday night. 

Demons

I cast out a demon today.  

My dad and I went to eat lunch, and then his truck broke down, so we called my mom to come pick us up.  As we were driving back to the house, mom's radio started wigging out and my dad goes "Oh, your radio is possessed by a demon."  I jokingly put my hand on the radio and said "The power of Christ compels thee."  My mom looked at me and said "Don't make fun of that" and right as she did the radio started working right again.

I have realized my calling as a faith healer/demon hunter.

Tyler Russell's Poetry

Congratulations, Mississippi State.  You got yourself a winner at QB and an amazing poet.  From the musings of Tyler Russell:

There once was an SEC superstar 
Who always drove a fancy sports car 
He threw for many yards in a game 
He moved to Mississippi state 
Where the fans screamed his name 

He spent most of his time learning plays 
He never went fishing or visited the bay 
He worried about nothing but football 
He loved the internet 
Where he shopped online,never going to the mall 

To practice, to dinner, and home he went 
These were the few places his time was spent 
On Sundays he went to church to repent 
Tyler was a good guy 
His mother says he was heaven sent 

His dream of winning the SEC finally came true 
Hard work pays off when your heart is in what you do 
This is a lesson that he was taught and always knew 
That if he kept his feet on the ground 
Someday his arms would reach beyond the skies of blue 

Awesome.  Completely awesome.

Jack Cristil's finest

Here are some of Jack Cristil's quotes from the 2008 Egg Bowl.

Egg Bowl Humor from Jack Cristil's broadcast.

"Ole Miss just scored and we don't know who scored because No. 85 (Bradley Sowell) isn't listed on their roster. But" Jack said, "It's academic at this point."

After an MSU holding call, "Well, if you can't block 'em, hold 'em!" -Cristil

"One can only hope so, Jack." - John Correro

Jack just said "It's third down and so long, you will need surveying equipment to see how much is needed for a first down."

"There are only 45 seconds left. Maybe Ole Miss wont score another touchdown. In the 1st quarter that is." - Cristil

"Coming up on the end of the quarter. The third quarter, that is. We've still got another one to play. At the end of the third quarter, Ole Miss barely out in front, 38-0." - Cristil

"Ole Miss has punted once today for a grand total of 12 yards. They ought to improve on that with this next punt." - Cristil (Laughter in the background as he was saying it).

"Let's punt it again. McAdams has to punt it a lot in his final game as a Bulldog." - Cristil

"For the record both teams have all of their timeouts left. So, that ought to make it fun." - Cristil

"Well, what do you know. The Rebels have put a couple of backup linemen in the game." - Cristil

"Mercifully, the clock continues to run." - Cristil

"About 3 minutes left, many fans have long been gone. In fact, some of them are probably already home by now." - Cristil

"Chris Relf can throw it long. He cannot throw it accurately, but he can throw it long." - Cristil

"Well, that's only a loss of 9 there. So, it's only third and 19." - Cristil

"A great many of the 55,000 fans have left the game now (45-0), they might even be home now watching on TV." - Cristil

"It's 4th down and 24 yards to go, this ought to dictate a punt right now." - Cristil

"One can only hope so, Jack." - John Correro

"Well, the Bulldogs take a delay of game. That backs up to their 4 where it will be fourth and 31. We just wanted to give McAdams plenty of room to kick the ball because he has such a powerful leg." - Cristil

"That's it. Ballgame over. Ole Miss noses out Mississippi State, 45-0." = Cristil

"Sonic drive of the game....My drive home to Tupelo, Mississippi, I guarantee you that is my drive of the game." and he proceeds to give his home address -Cristil

Some Random Thoughts...

-School sucks.  I'm ready to be done and doing something else.  This has been a recurring theme from me, I know, but it's something that just needs to be said.  Again.

-30 Rock is very funny.  I randomly bought season 1 on DVD right before Thanksgiving break and loved it.  Very funny.  I'm glad to have another TV show to waste my time with.

-I don't like the state of Texas, but I am ecstatic at the thought of spending New Years there, but I'd rather go to Florida.  Just saying.

-I love NFL football.  I went to my first pro game a week ago, Saints vs. Packers on Monday Night Football.  It was an absolute blast.

-Speaking of NFL football, I am absolutely stoked about the upcoming weekend.  Friday - South Panola vs. Meridian in the state 5A championship game.  South Panola currently owns the nation's longest win streak in high school football.  Saturday - Ole Miss vs. New Orleans in New Orleans.  After that, Hornets vs. Grizzlies.  Sunday - Falcons vs. Saints.  The best part?  I'll be at all of them live.  In person.

-Speaking of Atlanta...8-4?  Seriously?  Matt Ryan is amazing.

-I'm glad it's cold.  I like the cold.

-Is having a blog arrogant?  It's like I'm saying "Hey!  I'm important!  You should read my thoughts!  Please do!"  Except that no one does.  I promise, it's not because I'm arrogant.  It's because I'm bored.

-Bored.  Where has the Bored-Again Christian gone?  This makes me sad.